“For £75, we probably could have had a nice glass of wine each or maybe even a bottle of champagne,” Mr Heaton told the Independent. “But three bottles of water? I wasn’t angry. I was just totally bemused.

“I spend a lot of time in central London and I have a lot of meetings in the top hotels. I am pretty well versed in how these places work but I have never had this before. I will never set foot in that hotel again.”

The hotel issued this response to Mr Heaton via Twitter:

@EdwardHeaton Thanks for letting us know.We will make sure our policy at the Crystal Bar is dazzlingly clear to all in future. All the best.

A spokesperson for the Wellesley told news.com.au: “The Wellesley applies a minimum spend of £25 per person as standard after 4pm for guests occupying the hotel’s cigar terraces where Mr Edward Heaton held his business meeting on 17 July 2014. Guests are made aware of this policy on arrival and the rates are printed on the menus distributed on the terraces.

“The minimum spend of £25 per person is comparable to similar venues across London. Mr Heaton did not raise concern at the time of his visit but did send an e-mail of complaint the following week. In response, The Wellesley’s management team replied on the same day to offer its sincere apologies to Mr Heaton for an experience he deemed less than satisfactory and we would like to take this opportunity to apologise again.”

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